Bijou Theatre (Manhattan, 1917)

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209 West 45th Street
Bijou Theatre, W. 45th St., Manhattan.jpg
209 W. 45th St.
Bijou Theatre (Manhattan, 1917)
General information
Location Manhattan, New York City
Coordinates 40°45′30.5″N73°59′10.5″W / 40.758472°N 73.986250°W / 40.758472; -73.986250
Opened1917
Demolished1982

The Bijou Theatre was a former Broadway theater in New York City that opened in 1917 and was demolished in 1982.

It was built by the Shubert family in 1917 at 209 W. 45th Street in New York City, and was the smallest of the houses they operated with a capacity of 603. [1] [2] Although it did not keep the planned name of the Theatre Francais, it retained its French decor. [1] It was one of three theaters that hosted the premiere season of the musical Fancy Free —but primarily it presented plays by many writers, including Sacha Guitry, John Galsworthy, A. A. Milne, James M. Barrie, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Leslie Howard, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Luigi Pirandello, Graham Greene, Eugene O'Neill, William Saroyan, and Seán O'Casey. [3]

The Oscar-winning British film The Red Shoes played the Bijou for 107 weeks, from October 21, 1948, to November 13, 1950.

Starting on November 16, 1950, as the Bijou, it hosted the film Cyrano de Bergerac , starring José Ferrer. [4]

In 1951, it became a CBS radio studio, thenas the D. W. Griffith Theatreit presented art films, and was subsequently reduced in size due to the expansion of the adjacent Astor. [1] It was reinstated as the Bijou Theatre in 1965, and was home to arguably its largest hit—Mummenschanz [5] —but was demolished in 1982 to make room for the Marriott Marquis Hotel.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bijou Theatre (Manhattan, 1878)</span> Former theatre in Manhattan, New York

The Bijou Theatre was a former Broadway theater in New York City that opened in 1878 as Theatre Brighton and was demolished in 1915. It also served as an opera house and silent movie venue throughout its history. Located at 1239 Broadway between 30th and 31st Streets, had been converted from a drinking and gambling establishment into a theatre for variety, and opened August 26, 1878, with Jerry Thomas as proprietor. The house had many changes and names until John A. McCaull, a Baltimore lawyer, and Charles E. Ford took charge of it. Considerable money was spent and when they reopened the house on March 31, 1880, as the Bijou Opera-house, it looked like a modern and well-regulated theatre. In 1881 and 1882, Lillian Russell appeared in three different operettas.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bijou Theatre in New York, NY - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  2. The New York Times. April 13, 1917
  3. Barrows, Roger E. (June 12, 2019). The Traveling Chautauqua: Caravans of Culture in Early 20th Century America. McFarland. pp. 199–200. ISBN   978-1-4766-3714-3.
  4. The New York Times. November 17, 1950
  5. Neuner, Allen (September 2, 2021). "Tales of Broadway: One theatre for the price of five". Out In Jersey. Retrieved October 31, 2021.